interview by Ray C.

CRED: Can you give me the thought process behind being a producer and being a CEO?

A: I started out as a musician at the age of fourth grade so from an early age music played a major role in my life. At the age of 16, I sold my first track and I started to really work on my craft and take it seriously and now here I am at the age of 28 I am the CEO of my own label Platinum Boy Music Inc. One thing that you have to realize is that it is a long grind it is something that you have to be passionate about, something that you have to take seriously and something where you have to be in it for the long run. A lot of times people think they are going to be rich overnight, they want to drive a hot car or rock jewels and that is a part of the game but that is not what your focus should be on. As far as my company I wanted to create a movement where I was a platinum boy which means everything I touched went platinum. As time went on I realized that you do not have to do it by yourself you can have a team that taps in to your vision and wants to help you get to where you want to go.

CRED: In an industry that is fickle about the sound it wants you have managed to stay versatile; is that an advantage?

A: It is a gift and a curse, being a creative person in this industry because people tend to gravitate toward a particular sound. Right now it is the autotune sound, there is a Prince sound going on, when I create I do not follow what is going on if I do take something from what is going on I just do it from my perspective. Sometimes people are scared. They are scared to try something new they are scared to gravitate away from what is successful and try something new. I try to stay true to what I do and stay true to my sound I am lucky to have over 45 artists gravitate toward my sound and give me an opportunity to create a record for them it lets me stay on top of what I do and kep pushing to do my original sound and my original vibe.

CRED: What advice would you give to producers to step their game up?

A: To be a producer it has to be something that you have to be born to do. It starts with getting a keyboard or getting an MPC 3000 and chopping up samples and trying to bang out as many joints as you can. I can even appreciate what people do on the computer for a long time I said you would never see me doing that but then I got a whiff of logic and now I use logic. I definitely keep the foundation of the keyboard and the MPC 2000 but it is cool to roll with technology you do not have to be boxed into one particular thing. As far as musicianship not everyone is blessed to play keyboard or play drums so I would say just do what you do or connect with someone who does that. You know I am from the church so I connect with other musicians, other keyboardists that can lay down things I may not be able to do. It does not take away anything from me to have to have another person lay down a bass line or something if that is what I have to do to have a hot record then that is what I have to do. A lot of the most successful people in thi industry when you hear a hot record it is not just them. It is a collaborative effort between various musicians so I would say be open minded and not feel like you have to do everything.

CRED: Which artists do you have the best chemistry with in the studio female and male?

A: I would have to say Lil Mo for the females. We have a lot in common she is hilarious and we both grew up in the church she is an amazing singer, songwriter and she knows what she wants. I did “Sometimes I” featuring Jim Jones and “Brand New” Meet The Girl Next Door” album. She lets me come in as a producer add live instruments and do whatever I have to do to make the records as big as possible. On the male side of things, Mike Jones is the male version of Lil Mo,... we spoke two months before and he knew what he wanted and he is very passionate about what he is doing. When I went out to Houston I stayed out at his crib, we knocked out the songs, he is an overall good dude I appreciated those sessions the most.

CRED: I have to ask you what it was like working on Diddy’s project?

A: Wow, it was very challenging. The types of tracks I created were nothing like what I had done before,... I just got back from LA doing some filming for the Diddy’s show “Making His Band. Diddy is building his band that will perform with him on the world tour once he releases the CD. It was a rewarding and exciting experience. “Last Train to Paris” will be a ridiculous album

CRED: Talk about learning the business side of the industry as a producer.

A: Thankfully I only had two learning experiences that shook me up and allowed me to open my eyes. I produced a song for Foxy Brown the title track for the Cradle to the Grave Movie Soundtrack and her brother Gavin wanted some of the credit and he even got paid on my behalf. My wife at the time who was helping manage me had to call Def Jam everyday and we had to do a lot of harassing before they cut a check and saw the light. Now I am looking at the gold plaque on my wall because it was the first record that I did that sold over 500,000 units. I’d like to mention to the producers on the come uop that this has to be something that you want to do because the politics of the game can tear away from you and you are going to have to fight and continue to move forward regardless of people pretending to be your friend, people pretending to appreciate what you do and then they do not want you to succeed. It is what it is they treated Jesus terribly you have to keep it moving and allow that to be your fuel to keep pushing.

CRED: What is the most important things you could tell someone to get ready for the industry.

A: It’s really about being able to create and maintain relationships. A lot of me getting on these projects and albums is me being a humble person that people can relate to. That people want to work with. It is not just about being able to write, being able to sing and being able to produce it is being able to do all of those things plus be a person artists and producers want to be around. Take advantage of the online tools the MySpace, Facebook, Twitter use them. There are a ton of showcases that happen, there a ton of conferences that happen so get out as much as possible put your songs and your beats up, network and create opportunity. Become a star in your neighborhood, in your city, in your boro because they can appreciate you they can push for other people to appreciate you.

CRED: How did you get involved with Rakim?

A: It is all about relationships. I got connected with his attorney/manager I sent him some tracks and he loved two of them. Rakim is so pivotal if you don’t see the light now I do not know what to tell you. It is huge to have Rakim on your record.

CRED: What are you working on and where can we find you?

A: My main artist Tiffany Mynon is the angel of R&B. I am working on her album that will be coming soon. www.myspace.com/tiffanymynonmusic. www.youtube.com/tiffanymynontv

I produced “Anything You Can Do” on Bow Wow’s New Jack City II album. I produced “I Know” from Mike Jones’. The Voice featuring Trey Songz. I produced a song on Paul Wall’s new album Fast Life. I got song’s on Keisha Cole’s album, the new T.I album, Cannibus, Keith Murray,Rakim, Redman. I will also be in a city near you with Trey Songz I am his musical director and drummer so I will be doing a tour with him maybe two. Also musical director and judge on Diddy’s Making His Band Show.

I am also the Musical Director for Diddy his show Making His Band coming to MTV this summer and fall so be on the look out. You can catch me on MySpace at www.myspace.com/ produceramedeus. You can catch me on twitter at www.twitter.com/produceramedeus and I have a YouTube channel www.youtube.com/amedeustv. I do not have a Facebook page so do not look for me there.

Both: Laughs